In the eight years since SCO asserts it acquired these Unix assets from Novell, SCO's record in marketing this property has been dismal, at best. And Novell even disputes the idea that SCO now owns the appropriate rights to back its claims.

Let's look at the past five years. The group's annual revenue grew 64-fold-to $64 million in 2002. Yet, remember that the original SCO (Santa Cruz Operation) recorded $55 million in revenue a quarter, back in 1996.